Apr 23, 2007, 15:39 GMT
Stockholm - Nordic leaders Monday hailed the late Russian President Boris Yeltsin's contributions in turning events during the end of the Soviet Union.
'The memory of Boris Yeltsin is that of a man who played a key role in ending the Soviet dictatorship,' Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said, noting how Yeltsin helped Russia to take 'its first steps toward democracy.'
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who was notified on the start of a visit to several countries in Latin America, said it was 'sad' to hear of Yeltsin's death.
'We honour the former Russian president who at a critical phase remained a steadfast champion for a democratic Russia,' Rasmussen said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Yeltsin was 'without doubt, for all the human weaknesses no-one is free of, one the great men of our times.'
'When everything was uncertain in the collapsing Soviet Union, he set a new course by abolishing the Soviet Union and recognizing the independence of the three Baltic states,' Bildt added.
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